


The big scary C-word

by ArcticSwan



Series: Adventures in love and pain [2]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Cancer, Comfort, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Cancer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28774149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticSwan/pseuds/ArcticSwan
Summary: I feel the title of this probably tells you most of what you need to know, the trigger warning certainly is there. But I'll spell it out anyway...Trigger warning: Cancer.
Relationships: Scott Carter & Trent Sawyer
Series: Adventures in love and pain [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107179
Comments: 42
Kudos: 41





	1. The injury

It felt like his heart skipped a beat as he watched a bright flash and heard a loud bang from the part of the building he knew Trent and Sonny were in. The window blew out, but the rest of the structure held.

He swallowed painfully before he keyed his mike, “Bravo-3, Bravo-4, what’s your status?”

No answer.

There was no way a spin up would change his life forever that way. No.

The light debris like paper shreds settled to the ground.

“Do you hear me? Bravo-3, Bravo-4…”

“Yeah. Yeah… Hear ya…” Sonny’s voice coughed over the radio.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, naw…” Sonny coughed some more, “Only problem is that the air is thick with dust.”

“Okay, have you got eyes on Bravo-4?”

“Not yet.”

Metal grimaced.

“He’s here. His radio’s toast.” Sonny followed up not long after.

“How is he?”

It took a few seconds before Sonny’s voice appeared in his ear again, “Hurt his leg, can’t walk on it. No visible wounds.”

“I think I’m closest to you. If Bravo-6 can come take my spot, I can help the two of you.”

“Good idea.” Jason forced himself into the conversation, “6, can you take Alpha-1’s position.”

“Affirm.” Clay’s voice appeared.

123123123

“What happened?” Metal asked as he walked into the part of the building Trent and Sonny were at.

“Mr. Tomato Paste over there had an S-vest.” Sonny explained and pointed at some remains, “Wasn’t that forceful, and he stalled.”

“Yeah, had time to dive for cover.” Trent bit out.

“And your leg is…”

“I think I broke it.”

“How?”

“Not really sure.” Trent admitted, “Think I landed like shit after jumping over that thing to get some cover.”

Metal frowned a bit, “That’s not even chest tall…”

“Like I said, landed really bad.” Trent bared his teeth.

Metal hunched down next to Trent’s legs, “Left or right?”

“Right.”

“Ankle?”

“No.” Trent frowned, “Upper leg. About midway between my knee and hip.”

Metal frowned again, looked up at the height Trent had jumped over and then down at his leg again.

“I don’t really know what’s happening, but your gears are doing something…” Sonny tilted his head and looked at Metal.

“Bro, I just don’t get how you break your thigh bone jumping over that.” Metal sighed, “If you were my 90 year old osteoporotic grandma, sure. But…”

“Yeah, I don’t really get it either.” Trent admitted, “But I’m 92 percent sure my femur is broken.”

Metal nodded a bit, “You’ve got something to use as a splint in that medic bag of yours?”

Trent shook his head, but started shrugging out of it anyway, instead of finding the splint himself, he just handed the entire bag to Metal. “I think we’re going to need traction.”

Metal nodded a bit, “And we should stabilize your entire leg.”

“Yeah, but you can’t do that while I’m lying like this.”

“I’ll move your leg, you decide the pace.” Metal locked eyes with Trent for a moment, “Pat my shoulder or scream if I need to freeze, okay?”

Trent nodded.

“Anything I can do?” Sonny offered as Metal had started maneuvering Trent’s leg into a position where it would be possible for him to do what was necessary.

“If you could find something I could wipe my eyes with, I’d be grateful.” Trent bit out as he focused on what Metal was doing, “Got enough sand and dust to start a desert.”

“Probably best if we don’t use water from our canteens then?”

“If you can find something else, that would be great.” Trent nodded, not taking his eyes from what Metal was doing.

“I’m also going to need hard and long materials for a splint. Has to be longer than his leg.” Metal shot in as he rested Trent’s leg against the ground.

Sonny nodded, “I’ll see what I can get.”

“And some padding.” Metal added.

“Okay.”

123123123

“T… You… You need to get that fracture checked out.” Metal swallowed.

“Of course.”

“No, I mean…” Metal stopped what he was working on and looked at Trent, “Femur is one of the strongest bones in the body. You are fit and should have a good bone density based on activity level and age…”

Trent didn’t reply.

“That’s not even five feet tall.” Metal pointed at the half-wall separating them from the rest of the room. I don’t care how bad you landed. You shouldn’t break your thigh from doing that. I’d understand it if it was your ankle, but not your femur.”

Trent shrugged a little.

“Hey, look at me.” Metal demanded quietly, “Are you… Sick… Or something?”

“What? No…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…” Trent swallowed a little, like his body refused to believe what his mind believed.

“How about fatigue?”

“Our job is to go until we drop.” Trent shrugged, “Everyone’s tired as hell from time to time.”

“Struggling to keep weight on?”

“I’ve always been prone to lose weight.” Trent shrugged, “I forget a couple of meals and I lose a bit of weight. It’ll come back on whenever I decide it has to.”

Metal sighed, “No unexplainable pains you can’t get rid of?”

Trent’s eyes found his leg.

“So your leg has been hurting…”

“What? How did you know?”

“I know you really well, and you’re easier to read than a children’s book.”

Trent opened and shut his mouth a couple of times before he was able to form an answer, “It’s nothing. My leg has ached a bit the last couple of months. Not bad.”

“T… My favorite uncle, when I was a kid… Never sick a day in his life…” Metal shook his head a little, “He broke his arm during a workout. Doing burpees.”

“That’s not possible.” Trent frowned.

“Yeah, it is.” Metal tilted his head a little, “-If the bone already is compromised.”

“He died a year and a half later, the doctors didn’t catch that the bone was weakened due to bone cancer. It spread, and when they finally caught it, it was too late. Well, to be fair, it had probably started spreading before he broke his arm… But…”

Trent glanced uncomfortably down at his leg.

“I’m not saying that this has to be that. But… Please, have your doctor take a good and hard look at it. I can’t lose you.”

Trent nodded a little.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Trent nodded again.

They sat in silence for a few seconds until Sonny came back.

“Found everything you requested. Gonna have to make another trip to get the rest.” Sonny declared as he dropped long strangles of wood on the ground, then he looked at the two. “Damn, who died while I was gone?”

“No one.” Trent rushed out, “We… uhh…”

“We just discussed how tricky and painful it will probably be to get Trent to exfil.”

“Hell, I think this calls for medevac…” Sonny smirked, then his expression fell when both of the others still looked somber, “I’m sorry. I’m gonna go get the water and some blankets now.”

Trent nodded a little, and Sonny left the room.

“Thank you…” Trent swallowed hard, “I didn’t know what to say.”

Metal shook his head, “No problem.”

Trent offered up the slightest smile ever, it didn’t even reach close to his eyes.

“Whatever happens next…” Metal grabbed a hold of Trent’s hand, “I’ll be there for you. You need someone to scream at, punch, whatever. Do it to me. You need a shoulder to ugly-cry on, or someone to physically hold you upright. I’m your guy.”

“If I feel the need to punch someone, I better stick to a punching bag…” Trent almost smirked, then he tilted his head the other way, “-If I need someone to wrap me up in a hug when there’s no one else around?”

“I am definitely the guy for that task.” Metal winked, before the silence bloomed between them again.


	2. The hospital

He wasn’t sure which of their bodies racked with sobs, hell, it probably was both of them.

_‘It’s bone cancer, but we caught it early…’_

_‘It’s probably Ewing Sarcoma, the biopsy we took during the surgery will confirm it as soon as the lab is done with it.’_

_‘You have good chances of becoming cancer free.’_

_‘Hasn’t metastasized yet. 70 percent of people who get this kind of cancer will go into remission and stay healthy after the right treatment.’_

However the hell the doctor put it, it was still the big and scary C-word.

The entire team had been there at first, offering encouraging words while Trent tried to keep his expression as neutral as it would go.

Metal had been fighting not to cry as well, ever since the doctor broke the news.

123123123

Ray had been the one to suggest that Trent might want some peace and quiet, and asked if Trent wanted them to stay or go.

Trent had agreed that he was tired, and probably wanted some rest. Company was nice, but he could use the rest of the night alone.

Metal had ‘left’ with the others, but in the parking lot he ‘remembered’ that he had forgotten his car keys in Trent’s room.

“You’ll probably have left before I get back out…” He shrugged, “See you tomorrow.”

A chorus of ‘yeah’ and ‘see you then’ sounded as they waved back at him, as he turned around to go back to where Trent was.

123123123

“I hope that ‘I want to be alone’ thing didn’t include me…” Metal said quietly as he stepped through the door.

Tear rimmed eyes stared back at him, “No.”

Metal nodded and closed the door behind him.

At first he stood beside Trent’s bed, holding his hand for a few minutes. Neither of them said anything, both were silently crying.

“You know…” Trent choked out after a little while, “I could really use that hug now.”

Metal nodded and leaned over to hug him.

“No.” Trent shook his head, “I need you to climb up in here with me, and hug me.”

“You sure?”

Trent nodded.

Metal nodded in return and lowered the rail closest to him, in order to climb in with his partner.

And then the waterworks started.


	3. Coming home

“Hey, guys.” Metal swallowed hard as he got the attention from the rest of the team present in their locker.

The guys looked up, showing that he had their undivided attention.

“Since… Since Trent.” He took a deep, calming breath, “Since the situation is like it is. I offered Trent to stay with me, for as long as he wants to. I figured since I’m the only one with relatives nearby, it would be best if I were to offer that.”

“Ray’s got relatives nearby…” Sonny shrugged, “In case you haven’t noticed Naima.”

“Ray’s got kids as well.” Metal shrugged, “Naima has enough to deal with when Ray’s not around already. Better if he stays with me.”

The other guys nodded.

“He’s coming home from the hospital later today.” Metal shrugged, “He started chemotherapy a few days ago, says he’s feeling okay enough to have one or two guys around for company, for a little while at least, but… Chemo isn’t treating him well, exactly.”

“Did you visit him yesterday?” Jason asked.

“Yeah.” Metal nodded, “He’s in pain, of course… And he’s not sure if it’s the pain or the chemo which makes him tired.”

“So, short visits and not too many at the time?” Clay asked.

Metal nodded, “And call first. Please. It’s a first time experience for him, he doesn’t know if this is as bad as the side effects are going to get, or if he’ll be really sick from it. My guess is, he’ll probably get worse. And if he does, I think he’d like the opportunity to tell you to come another day instead.”

The others nodded.

“I might end up calling in ‘sick’ from time to time, if Trent is getting his ass whooped by the side effects, especially now while he’s also on crutches and recently had surgery to stabilize the fracture in his leg.” Metal looked at the others, “I already discussed it with Blackburn. He’s alright with it, and if any of the higher ups make a fuzz about it, he’ll back me up.”

“That’s good.” Sonny nodded, “We will too, and if you need any of us to take a sick day every now and then… I’m pretty sure every single one of us would do it.”

Metal nodded, “Thank you.”

“How is his leg?” Brock asked after a few seconds of silence.

“Well, turns out he’s been in pain for a while before he hurt it.” Metal sighed, “He still has that kind of pain, but now it’s worse thanks to the pain from the break and the surgery. He’s not a fan of the cast, as you probably guessed. Not looking forward to a couple of months relying on crutches… -But, I think he’s more optimistic now than when he got the news. At least he’s had time to digest it a bit.”

Brock nodded a bit.

“Seemed like the doctors are still trying to land on a final way to treat it. Trent wanted me to let you know that… They plan on saving his leg, for now at least. But he’s not sure if that means they are going to let the break heal, or if the plan is to basically cut out the bone and replace it with either a graft or hardware. All of that has been mentioned, but… Trent says his brain doesn’t exactly follow along like it usually would.”

“Understandable.” Ray nodded, “I can’t imagine how I’d handle it if I was in his situation.”

Metal nodded, “Yeah, me neither.”

“When is he coming home?”

“I think we agreed that I’d pick him up at 4:30…” Metal shrugged, “Think we’ll be home a little past 5p.m.”

“You think he’d want visitors tonight?” Jason asked.

“Call.” Metal shrugged, “-After you assume we’re home. If he’s got the energy for it, I’m sure he’d love it. But if he don’t… Best to give him the choice.”

Jason nodded.


	4. Hair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... I hope I'm not writing for nobody here...  
> Well, I guess I'm writing for myself. That's alright...
> 
> Anyway, I hope you 'enjoy' it...

Metal slipped in behind Trent, he draped one arm over Trent’s waist, the hand of his other arm started playing with Trent’s hair.

Trent sighed heavily, Metal stalled a bit.

“It’s all going to disappear…”

“What?” he was many things, but a mind reader was not one of them.

“My hair…” Trent sniffled a bit, “Probably. -A chunk came out when I brushed it earlier today.”

“Well… I’m certainly not the best one when it comes to consoling people…” Metal sighed, “But… After you’re done with chemo, it will come back…”

“I guess.”

“And until then, I think you’ll be every bit as sexy rocking no hair.” Metal squeezed himself tighter to Trent.

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.” Metal nodded, “You’ve got a nice head shape…”

“I think that’s the weirdest compliment I’ve ever received.”

Metal chuckled a bit, “I think it’s about the weirdest one I’ve given.”

“I feel stupid…”

“Babe… You’re not…” Metal let the thumb of his right hand brush against Trent’s pec, “-Any reason you want me to debunk?”

Trent chuckled in spite of himself.

Metal hummed a questioning note.

“I feel stupid being so afraid to lose my hair.” Trent sighed heavily, “-It’s just hair.”

“Yeah. It is just hair…” Metal nodded, “But I understand you. -You like having longer hair, and you like having someone toy with your hair, or do other stuff to it.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it would hold up to tugging right now.” Trent mused.

“I don’t think so either…” Metal admitted, “If you want me to, I’ll shave my head with you…”

Trent chuckled a bit.

“-And I could air the idea to the rest of the team as well…” Metal shrugged a bit, “If you want us to. Might be easier for you if everyone else rock a similar look…”

“Would you do that?”

“What? Shave my head or intimidating the others into doing the same?”

“Both?”

“Well, you should know the answer to the first one already…” Metal smiled to himself.

“Yeah… You do tend to shave your head when it gets to a certain length…”

“Yeah.” Metal nodded, “But I will intimidate the others into following along, if they don’t do it straight away.”

Trent chuckled, “Would be weird seeing Brock without curls.”

Metal chuckled as well, “Yeah.”

Trent hugged himself closer to the arm Metal had wrapped around him.

“-And Sonny without a beard.” Metal chuckled, “Because I’d be willing to force us all to shave any hair above the collar which chemo can take. Even eyebrows.”

“Please, for the love of everything nice…” Trent chuckled, “Save your eyebrows. That goes for the entire team. I can’t take you guys serious without eyebrows.”

“-Okay…” Metal chuckled, “Eyebrows are safe.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Metal nodded.

“-Are we talking machine shave, or razor?”

“Razor.” Metal shrugged, “No use in half-assing anything.”

“Will you help me shave my head as well?”

“If you want me to, sure.” Metal nodded, “Just let me know when, and I’ll man the hair clipper.”

“-I think I want a few more days with hair…”

“Of course…”

“But I have to take it before I’m 50% hairless…”

“Well, you’re not there yet.” Metal shrugged a little.

“You should’ve seen the chunk which came out of my hair this morning…” Trent almost chuckled, “Can’t be that much longer before I am…”

“Cross that bridge when we get to it?”

Trent nodded, then sighed heavily.

“What?”

“I’m tired.”

“Yeah…”

“And a bit nauseous.”

“Okay…”

“-And I kinda have to go pee as well…”

“Oh…”

“And I…” Trent sighed, “I really don’t have the energy for it.”

“I could carry you…” Metal offered sincerely.

“No.” Trent shook his head, “I’ll manage.”

“I mean it.” Metal squeezed Trent a little tighter, “You can choose as well, bridal or piggyback style.”

“I really don’t think my leg would be up for riding piggyback.” Trent chuckled at the image, “But no…”

“Let me help you up then?” Metal pushed up on one elbow.

“Okay.” Trent smiled back over his shoulder, then his expression fell, “I can’t believe how little I’m up for… A few weeks ago I could hike for an entire day with 100 pounds of gear...”

“Well, you weren’t getting literal poison injected into you every few weeks back then.” Metal shrugged.

“I can’t believe how shitty I feel after only the second round…” Trent pouted, “I don’t want to think about how bad I might feel before this is over.”

Metal sat up with a soft, compassionate, smile. “Let’s hope you don’t feel worse than you already do…”

Trent nodded a bit.


	5. Hair pt. 2

Trent frowned as he looked in the mirror. He’d been feeling ill most of yesterday. Then he hadn’t slept all that well throughout the night. His leg had been hurting, he wasn’t sure if it was because of the cancer or the injury. He had learned that it could be both. Some quality sleep would have been welcomed, but it just wasn’t in the cards for him. And by the looks of it, today wouldn’t be much better.

Another big tuft of hair had just joined his hairbrush in stead of hanging onto his head.

He could see the bare spot it had left. The other bare spots were easily hidden by his long-ish hair. This one was near the parting of his hair.

He sighed heavily, lifting his hairbrush into view. He picked at it, twisted the strands between his thumb and index fingers. He looked back up at his mirror image. Raised the same hand to his hair. Ran his hand through it. Once. Twice. Then he gently pulled at it.

Another tuft greeted him from his hand.

He tried patting the loose hair into his brush.

He contemplated brushing the rest of his hair, but he decided not to. He didn’t want to brush away most of his hair before he decided to get rid of it all.

He placed the brush on the bathroom counter, got a better hold of his crutches and hobbled a step back.

“Hey, Metal!”

123123123

“Yeah?” Metal yawned as he opened the door to the bathroom.

“Can you cut my hair?”

“Yeah…” Metal nodded and rubbed at his eyes, “Now?”

“Today.” Trent nodded, “I can’t hide the bald spots anymore.”

Metal straightened up a bit and nodded, “-Do you want to do it before or after breakfast?”

“Before.” Trent shrugged, “I felt sick after eating yesterday. I don’t think it would be much fun to sit around and get my hair cut while nauseous.”

Metal nodded and stretched his arms over his head in order to crack his back, “I’ll go get a chair you can sit on…”

123123123

“You want a picture before I buzz away?” Metal asked as he plugged the clipper into the wall.

“Nah.” Trent shook his head, “I’ve got enough pictures with it on. I don’t need to immortalize it with bald spots.”

“Okay.” Metal nodded and switched the clipper on, “Ready?”

“Go ahead.” Trent nodded as he leaned his head back so his hair would fall to the floor, not in his lap.

He kinda liked the feeling of the buzzer against his head, but Metal’s caring hands were the best thing.

“You doing alright?”

“Hmmm? Yeah.” He nodded.

“Do you want help rinsing off any small hairs which might have stuck to you afterwards?”

“That would be nice.” Trent nodded a little.

“Okay if I shave my own hair first? Before the shower?”

“You really meant that?”

“Yeah. Of course.” Metal nodded, “My hair doesn’t mean that much to me. But you do. And if it can help you feel better about your own hair situation… Of course I’ll shave my head.”

Trent leaned his head back and looked up at Metal again, “I love you.”

“I love you too…” Metal smiled back, before landing a kiss on Trent’s forehead, “Now, can you sit up straighter so I can get the rest of your hair?”

Trent nodded and did as he was asked.


	6. Pre-deployment BBQ

“I think your housemate is out cold…” Sonny gently elbowed Metal and nodded towards Trent who was asleep in one of the garden chairs, with his leg propped up on a cooler.

“Yeah…” Metal nodded a bit, “Called it.”

“Yeah?”

“He’s been far from the energizer bunny lately.”

“Oh…”

“Turns out chemo steals most of your energy.” Metal shrugged, “Don’t tell anyone, but he actually fell asleep while eating breakfast a few days ago.”

“For real?”

“Yeah.” Metal smirked, “But I swear, you tell anyone…”

“-I’m getting strung up by my feet and whipped until my back is wet from blood.”

“…Something like that, yeah.”

“No one else will ever know.” Sonny promised.

Metal sighed a bit, “I should probably wake him up and offer to drive him home…”

“It’s the evening before deployment…” Sonny shrugged, “Sure your parents can’t pick him up instead?”

“No… Mom and dad are on a date, I don’t want to interrupt them.”

“…Your parents are still going on dates?”

Metal looked down at Sonny, “Yeah… They… They are definitely one of those couples.”

“Cute.” Sonny smiled, “I’d never guess that about your parents.”

“FYI, same rules goes for ever mentioning that to other people.”

“Copy that.”

Metal looked back at Trent, “He does look like he’s okay there, right?”

“Yeah.”

Metal tilted his head from side to side, “I’ll give it ten more minutes. Then I’ll wake him and ask him.”

“There’s more BBQ left over… -If you want to bring something home for him.”

“Can I?” Metal glanced over at Sonny, “He hasn’t eaten this well in weeks.”

“Yeah. Of course.” Sonny nodded, “And yeah… He’s getting skinnier.”

Metal nodded a little, “He’s not happy about that.”

“-Or the hair, I imagine.”

“Nope.” Metal shook his head, “Hey, thanks for shaving your head as well… I think it helped the first week or two.”

“Don’t mention it.” Sonny shook his head, “I’d like it if my friends tried to support me like this if roles were reversed…”

“Yeah…” Metal nodded, “I guess I would have appreciated it as well.”

123123123

“Hey babe…” he whispered as he placed a hand on Trent’s shoulder, “You want to go home.”

Trent blinked awake and gave the close proximity a once over, “What?”

“I asked if you wanted to go home.” Metal shrugged, “You’ve been sleeping in this chair for a while now.”

The sigh leaving Trent told him that it was too late for him already, by a long shot.

“You’ll be more comfortable in a bed than in that chair…”

Trent craned his neck and looked at Metal.

“Too tired?”

“My body is lead…”

“You want me to carry you to the car?”

“-No…” Trent all but pouted.

Metal waited patiently for a second or five, “Will it have to be the way we get you to the car anyway?”

“…Maybe…”

Metal nodded, “I’ll get you to the car first, then I’ll come back for your crutches and the backpack.”

“…I wish I could be here longer.”

“-Do you want to stay here for a little while longer?”

“I don’t have the energy.”

Metal nodded, “Alright, slip your arm around my neck…”

123123123

“They’d be such a cute couple…” Mandy mused as she watched Full Metal lift Trent in his arms, then she looked over at Lisa.

“You’re actually right…” Lisa smirked and took another sip of her beer, then she chuckled, “Look at him, the one who ends up being carried across the doorsill by him will have nothing to fear.”

“Strong physique, yeah.” Mandy smiled.

123123123

Trent stretched a little in the passenger seat as Metal woke him once they were back home.

“You ready to get inside…” Metal asked as he opened his own door.

Trent frowned.

“Want me to carry you again?” Metal asked just as casually as if he would have asked if Trent wanted a coffee.

“-Can you?”

“Of course.” Metal nodded, “Today was a bit much, right?”

Trent nodded, eventually.

“I’m sorry I didn’t keep track of how you were doing…”

“No…” Trent shook his head, “I had a good time. I just… No energy left.”

Metal nodded again.

“I’m going to be so screwed now that your deployment starts…” Trent yawned and closed his eyes.

“My mom and dad will take care of you…” Metal shrugged a little.

“Look, I love your parents…” Trent offered up a tired smile, “But I doubt they’ll be able to do everything you’ve been doing for me lately.”

Metal nodded a bit, he knew that was true. Neither of his parents would’ve been able to carry Trent inside when he was too tired, or physically help him off the floor if that was needed. “Well, at least it’s someone who’ll stop by every day, sometimes multiple times a day. And someone you can talk with.”

Trent nodded a bit.

“I wish I didn’t have to go this time…”

“It’s just a few months…” Trent sighed.

Just a few months. Neither of them knew what life would look like in a few months. If this was about as bad as it would get, or if Trent’s illness would be worse by the time Metal came back. And, if the odds were in their favor, he could be a lot better than at the moment as well.

No use in contemplating all of that. Metal clapped his hands together, before he winked at Trent, “Let’s get you to bed, huh?”

Trent yawned once more, “Yeah.”


	7. Zoom call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah... The title of this chapter was probably the most 2020/2021 chapter title I could come up with...
> 
> Also, unless you like viewing gory pictures, don't google what they googled.   
> There... That's your warning.

“Do you have earplugs in, or does whatever I say get shared with the entire room immediately?” Trent tilted his head as he looked at Metal through the screen of his computer.

“Nah, I have a headset in…” Metal shrugged and lifted the thin cord into view.

“There’s an actual strip tease going on behind you…”

Metal frowned before snapping around, “Sonny! Really?”

“I figured he would miss some pure-bred Texan…”

“First of all…” Metal frowned, “No one wants to see you imitate the women at that rack joint you spend most of your spare time at. Second, put some damn pants on.”

“You’re just grumpy because of what happened yesterd-”

“No. Stop.” Metal scowled, “Or you will find toothbrush shavings in your bunk,”

Sonny froze, then nodded. “You are persuasive.”

“Now, please. Pants.” Metal requested before he turned towards the screen again.

“…So, what happened yesterday?”

“Nothing.” Metal shook his head.

“Okay…” Trent nodded, then frowned, “Why is Sonny pointing to his hand?”

“I’m gonna kill that Longhorn loving punk.”

“Scott…” Trent narrowed his eyes, “He’s pointing to his hand, and making this motion…”

Trent repeated what Sonny had been doing moments earlier, mimicking that he was snapping twigs or something like it.

“A moment please…” Metal smiled sweetly before he twisted around, “Sonny Quinn, you know you’re initiating a prank war, right? Don’t come crying to me when you wake up with scorpions on your pillow.”

Sonny shuddered, “Alright… Alright… I won’t…”

“Pants, and outside.” Metal ordered, “I can’t have you doing all sorts of weird stuff behind me…”

Sonny got dressed, almost at least, and headed outside.

123123123

“So… What did you do to your hand?”

“Nothing you have to worry about.” Metal shrugged.

“Well, can you show me?”

“Don’t you have enough to worry about already?”

“Scott…” Trent warned, “We talked about this… I don’t want you to baby me about whatever’s going on. Not unless I say I can’t take more.”

Metal nodded a bit.

“Now, what happened?”

“It’s stupid, alright?” Metal pulled a light grimace.

“Spit it.”

“I…” Metal stalled, “I was punching this guy, he had a helmet.”

Trent nodded along.

“He ducked right as I punched.” Metal shrugged, “I got a small crack in a bone in my hand. I’m not even pulled off the active list.”

“And they chose to fix it by…”

“Cast. Six weeks, probably.” Metal shrugged, “Sonny’s been having fun on my behalf since.”

“Can I see the cast?”

Metal sighed, sat back in his chair and lifted his left hand into view.

“…I thought you had good punching technique…”

“Helmet. And he basically headbutted my fist.” Metal offered up a smile which resembled an annoyed grimace, “It’s borderline embarrassing.”

“Yeah, that sort of cast kinda screams, ‘I’m a troubled kid who likes to punch walls, but have no technique’…”

“Exactly.” Metal chuckled.

“Is it the metacarpal leading out to your pinky finger?”

“It’s the bone in my hand, leading out to my pinky…” Metal shrugged, “So, yeah… I guess.”

“-Are you doing alright?”

Metal tilted his head a bit, “Are you asking if my hand is okay? Or my head is still on right?”

“-Both?” Trent shrugged, “I know I have been a bit… Depressed.”

“You have?” Metal sighed, “I wish I could be there to help you…”

“Your mom is awesome.” Trent winked, “Now, about you…?”

Metal took a deep breath, “I’m not all okay. Saying that would’ve been a lie…”

Trent nodded a bit. He didn’t speak up, he knew Metal probably had more to say before he was done.

“I’m more ‘on edge’ than usual…” Metal admitted, “But I’m functioning. The hand, that was what it was. I punched a guy with a helmet, who headbutted my hand.”

“Yeah?”

Metal nodded, “If you want to, you can ask pretty much anyone on the team… Well, not Ray… He was in sniper position.”

Trent nodded, “Does it hurt?”

“Not much.” Metal shrugged, “The embarrassment is worse than the pain. The pain is barely an annoyance.”

Trent nodded, “That’s good.”

Metal nodded a bit, “And you? How are you doing physically?”

“Surgery in a short week…” Trent almost scoffed.

“-That’s good, right?”

“I’m nervous.”

“I understand.” Metal nodded, “I would’ve been too… Hell, anyone would’ve been.”

Trent nodded slowly.

“So, what can you tell me?” Metal shrugged, “About the plan…”

“Well… I’m not going to have a right femur much longer…” Trent rubbed at one eye, “They are taking out the entire thing and replacing it with metal.”

Metal nodded a bit, “Hey, one step closer to being the Terminator…”

Trent chuckled in spite of himself, “I guess.”

“So, when do you want me to start pushing you?” Metal shrugged, “After the surgery…”

“There’s not a chance that I’ll make it back…” Trent shook his head, “No way…”

“Well, they said that about you once before…”

“That was different.”

“I know.” Metal nodded, “But in all fairness, you didn’t believe you could make it back then either.”

“No, but I hoped…” Trent sighed, “This time, I don’t even have that…”

Metal nodded, “I know.”

“Have you ever seen a total femur replacement?” Trent covered his face with his hands, “They actually butterfly your leg from hip to knee…”

“You googled it…” Metal frowned.

“I googled it.” Trent nodded with a grimace, “I really shouldn’t have done that.”

Metal chuckled a bit, “It’s alright… You’re going to be alright…”

“But have you seen…”

“I googled it as well…” Metal nodded, “And yeah, it looks bad. It does. But… You’re going to be alright.”

Trent sighed.

“And, I will be pushing you.” Metal winked, “First, I’ll be pushing you to get well enough to do everyday tasks… And then we’ll build from there. If we hit a wall we just can’t scale, then that’s fine… But I will make sure you get as far as you can.”

“You know what?”

“No…” Metal shrugged.

“I love you.”

“Love you too…” Metal grinned, “And I really wish I could be back home with you right now. I know you don’t like this situation at all, and… I just wish I could wrap you in a hug.”

“I’d like that…”

“I know…” Metal nodded, “Just a few months before I’m back though…”

Trent nodded, “Can barely wait.”


	8. Post-op

“Hey handsome… How are you feeling?” Metal prompted, looking at a drugged up Trent through a Zoom call. 

“They blessed me with a nerve block… So I’m okay…” Trent smiled sleepily back at him, “A little loopy.”

Metal nodded and tried to keep from laughing, “Yeah, I can see that…”

Trent chuckled, “Yeah, only way you’d miss it is if you’d turned blind…”

Metal chuckled as well, “You’re not wrong… So, have you lifted the covers and taken a look at it yet?”

Trent shook his head.

“No?”

“No. I really don’t want to look at it. At all…” Trent frowned, “They have my leg in some sort of suspension thing. Says I have to have it like this for… Five days, or more?”

Metal nodded.

“I also have some wound drain thing.” Trent frowned, “Those things freak me out. That’s what I really don’t want to see…”

Metal nodded, “Yeah, I remember you had one of those in your arm as well.”

Trent nodded a bit, “I was so glad when that was over.”

“Yeah, I remember…” Metal chuckled a bit, “So, any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Your parents are stopping by later…” Trent smiled a bit, “Your mom said she’d make me some homemade pizza.”

“Lucky you…”

Trent nodded. “Your mom makes the best food.”

“I agree.” Metal grinned, “You’re not nauseous or anything?”

“No… Just loopy.”

“That great.”

Trent nodded again, “But I’m realistic… That might change.”

Metal nodded, “Let’s hope not then…”

Trent nodded, “It’s weird that my leg doesn’t hurt… Weird feeling.”

“Considering what has just been done to that leg of yours…” Metal nodded, “Yeah. You’d expect it to hurt.”

“I hope this is the end of it…”

“The cancer?”

Trent nodded.

“I hope so too, T.”

Trent took a deep breath, then a mischievous smile spread across his lips. “You know what?”

“No…”

“I’m really going to enjoy that pizza…” Trent grinned, “What’s on your menu today?”

“Probably some ‘green eggs and ham’ looking shit…” Metal frowned, “-But it doesn’t taste good either. The current cook here is sub-par…”

“Then I definitely will have an extra slice for you.” Trent grinned.

“Well, you better…” Metal grinned back, “And say hi to mom and dad from me, alright?”

“Of course.” Trent grinned.

Metal smiled softly.

“So, how’s your hand?”

“Still in a cast, but turns out it isn’t that debilitating after all…” Metal winked, “We’ve been on two ops since I busted it, and… It works. I just have to remember not to throw any punches with it…”

“How do you hold your weapon? It’s gotta be annoying as…”

“It’s a little different.” Metal nodded, “But my aim’s still good… I’m just a little bit less nimble.”

“I can’t remember anyone accusing you of being nimble in the first place…” Trent chuckled.

“You know, I would probably have snapped back at you right now, for that, if you hadn’t just gone through a major surgery…”

Trent smirked, “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Okay, I wouldn’t…” Metal smiled back.

“So, where’s your roomie?” Trent asked after a long pause.

“Oh, he’s helping Lisa with some… I don’t really know what…” Metal shrugged, “Figured it was carrying some boxes or something.”

“Weird how he’s always the first to volunteer when she needs help with anything.” Trent chuckled.

“Yeah… And the last to volunteer for just about anything else…”

Trent chuckled as well.

“-One day…”

“Yeah. Definitely.” Trent smiled back.

Metal smiled, but turned when he heard footsteps outside. The official sounding kind, the one right before they were about to embark on another op. “Sounds like we’re about to get tossed out there again, I’ll email you or something when I can. Okay?”

Trent nodded, and typed something.

“You too…” Metal winked when he saw the ‘I love you’ message in the chat, “Alright, bye.”

“Bye, take care…”

“You too…”


	9. Friends taking care of friends

Lisa smiled as she saw Metal asleep in the old wooden chair, made exclusively out of 2x4’s. It did not look comfortable, not by a long shot.

She glanced at the screen of his computer and saw Trent asleep in a hospital bed.

She had come to get Sonny, but his bunk was empty. He was probably out by the fire pit already.

She smirked a bit as she looked at Metal, he looked so innocent.

-But he also looked like he would have the stiffest of all necks the next morning if she didn’t intervene.

“Hey, Metal…” she tried in a whisper at first. Then a little louder. Then she tossed a baseball at him.

He stirred awake with a groan.

“Hey, thought you might wanna take the bunk instead of that Christopher Titus looking chair…”

Metal grimaced and stretched, then grimaced some more. Then he looked at the screen and saw Trent fast asleep on the other side of the Atlantic. His right hand found the button on his headset which muted his mic, then he looked towards Lisa, “What time is it?”

“Almost 1:30…” Lisa smiled, “You both fell asleep while talking to each other…?”

“Trent dozed off…” Metal yawned and gingerly lifted his left arm from where it had rested against his lap, “He does that sometimes. Usually just a few minutes.”

“But then it was lights out for you as well?”

“I guess…” Metal nodded and cradled his left arm without really noticing it himself.

“That arm hurts more than you’re letting on…”

“What?” Metal frowned, then realized how he had positioned himself, changed how he held his arms and shook his head, “No… It just fell asleep the way I’ve held it while sleeping.”

“Yeah… I don’t believe you.” Lisa shook her head.

Metal shrugged.

“Come on…” she motioned for him to hold out his hand, “Let’s see it…”

“Really?”

“Do I have to use my mom voice?”

“Your mom voice?”

“Scott Carter…”

If anyone had asked him, he would not have been able to recall how his cast clad hand suddenly was in Lisa’s hands.

“Your knuckles are pretty bruised…”

“Well, they’re pretty scarred up as well.” Metal shrugged a bit, “No news there.”

“Does it hurt when I do this?”

Metal didn’t have to answer, the fact that he actually flinched and pulled his arm protectively towards him did it for him.

“Sorry…”

“Wasn’t that bad…” Metal scoffed in a hope that it would come off as convincing. And somehow his hand ended up in hers again.

“How about I make sure you don’t go on the next one…”

“I can go…”

“Well, I don’t want to get on Trent’s bad side, even when he’s incapacitated…”

Metal couldn’t answer, his mouth hung open, but there was no way he’d be able to form a coherent answer.

“I know.” She shrugged, “Even before I came in here, seeing you out cold in front of a Zoom sleepover.”

He tried to form an answer, but all he managed was to open and close his mouth like a fish.

“Relax, your secret is safe with me…”

“How?”

“Do you really want me to make you a list?”

Metal shrugged.

“Beside the fact that you pamper each other constantly, with small gestures of course… And that you ALWAYS glance towards each other, to check if the other one is alright, safe, having a good time…” Lisa shrugged, “And the way your face literally turned grey when Trent got his diagnosis. -I guess it the fact that he’s just about the only person you look comfortable being touched by.”

Metal swallowed hard.

Lisa’s eyes went back to studying his hand for a moment, or, the two fingers and his thumb which weren’t encased in a cast. “I’m not letting you out on an OP for the next five days. Got it? I’ll find some bullshit gig for you instead.”

Metal sighed, “So… You came here looking for Sonny?”

“Uhm… Yeah…”

“Hard to sneak a romantic moment here on base.”

She tilted her head a bit.

“Trent and I have been placing bets on whenever we get it confirmed.” Metal chuckled.

“…How’d you know?”

“The bar…” Metal smirked, “You had a few moments at the bar, where you were a bit too close… And then we assumed, and started looking for more clues. It really is one of those ‘ _if you know, you know…_ ’ things. We couldn’t stop seeing the signs after that.”

Lisa chuckled, “I guess I have your silence…”

“Of course.” Metal nodded, “And we do as well…?”

“Yeah. Always.” She nodded. Then she looked towards the screen again, “You should write him ‘good night’ or something, and get some proper sleep, in a bed.”

“Yeah… I guess.” Metal nodded, “Oh, and speaking of sleep… If you wanna keep Sonny all night, please… He snores like a freight train…”

“He really does…” she chuckled, “-Helps if you flip him over on his side, though.”

Metal chuckled a bit, “Well, you are braver than what I am…”

Lisa chuckled, “Thank you. But I don’t think so…”


	10. Coming back home

Trent wasn’t able to come and watch the rest of the team come home from their deployment. He was back home, but he didn’t feel up for going anywhere. He had been to physical rehab that day, and it had been a rough one.

So once he had made it home, he found the couch and fell asleep on it.

He didn’t wake up before a key was slid into the lock, but he wasn’t oriented enough to do anything before Metal was inside the house.

“Hey…” Metal grinned as he dropped his duffle bag and stalked over to the couch to meet his man, “How are you doing?”

Trent struggled to sit up before he smiled a bit, “Good. Tired, but good.”

Metal grinned and squatted down behind the back of the couch, “Can I kiss you?”

Trent nodded, “On the cheek.”

Metal leaned in and placed a kiss on Trent’s cheek.

“You still have a cast?” Trent tilted his head a bit after Metal pulled back away.

“Yeah, just one more week.” Metal shrugged and tapped his free fingers against the top of the couch.

“It’s been nine weeks already…”

“Has it?” Metal blushed a bit.

“It has…” Trent nodded, “So, why are you still in a cast?”

“I had a small flying lesson…” Metal shrugged, “Landed on my cast. It split a bit…”

“And?”

“And the doctor decided that I should wear the cast for a few more weeks.”

“Did they pull you from going on ops?”

“No.” Metal shook his head, “But Lisa made sure I didn’t go on all the ops.”

“Remind me to thank her…”

Metal smiled, “How are you holding up? How is the leg?”

“Stiff, sore, painful.” Trent shrugged, “Still not cleared for full weight bearing without crutches.”

“And the scar?”

“It’s ridiculously long.” Trent shrugged, “But it’s looking good. Healing well, looking nice.”

“Looking forward to seeing it.” Metal smiled, “You’re done with the brace though…”

“Yeah, had it for eight weeks. I had to have it for a bit longer than the expected six weeks.”

“Why?”

“Just because I heal a bit slower. Blame the chemo.” Trent shrugged, “But I’m done with the brace now.”

Metal nodded.

“Speaking of chemo… I had my last chemo…”

“Yeah?”

Trent nodded, “Last week. Had scans and a full workup a few days ago to confirm that I am in complete remission.”

“So we can go back to how our relationship was before the diagnosis?”

“My immune system is still… Not that great.” Trent shrugged, "I just want to be a bit cautious."

“Right. Kiss on the cheek, I should have guessed that…” Metal sighed.

“But say in a month or so…” Trent shrugged, “I’ll probably let you kiss me then, if you’re not sick or anything… But I won’t know how long it will take me to be myself again…”

“Hey, you’ve never been anyone else…”

“You know what I mean… Dork.” Trent chuckled, “I don’t really have any excess energy now. And I can’t promise I’ll ever have it, but I’m hoping.”

“Hey, however the future looks… We’ll make the best of it. We always do.”

“We always do.” Trent smiled back softly.

Metal smiled as well, entirely consumed by the moment.

“So, are you hungry? I’m hungry.” Trent winked.

“Hungry?” Metal chuckled, “Man, I’m starving. I didn’t stop for anything to eat after we landed.”

“I know.” Trent smiled, “I know you, remember?”

“So, are you actually hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat.” Trent nodded, “Maybe not the same sort of portion you could, but… I need food, and I think it would taste good.”

“You want me to cook something?” Metal offered.

“…I was thinking in the lines of ordering something. I’ve lived off of things I can throw in the microwave for a while. Tried to cook something about two weeks ago, I was drained of energy for two days afterward. Fridge is kinda…”

“Empty?”

“Not entirely…” Trent shrugged, “There’s some apple juice and jam…”

“Alright…” Metal smirked, “We order something to eat tonight, and I have grocery shopping duty first thing tomorrow.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, having food in the fridge benefits me as well…” Metal chuckled and slid his right hand over to squeeze Trent’s hand, “So, what are we going to eat tonight?”

“Not spicy…” Trent held his hands up, “I can’t handle spice at the moment.”

Metal nodded, “If we order at the same place, but different meals, is it okay if I go spicy?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know…” Metal shrugged defensively, “You just said…”

“It was more a note of… Wherever we order has to have non-spicy options as well…” Trent chuckled, “I just can’t, unless I want to spend the night at the bathroom floor.”

“Copy that…” Metal nodded, “Chinese? Italian? Are those okay?”

“Yeah, there’s some good mild options there.” Trent nodded.

“Or some mild pizza?”

Trent frowned a bit.

“Not pizza, get it.” Metal chuckled, “What do you want?”

“Chinese.” Trent nodded, “Fried rice, from that one down at Georgia Street.”

“Nice.” Metal grinned, “Then I’m getting fried noodles. Those are awesome.”

“I still think the rice is better.”

“More noodles for me…” Metal grinned, “I’ll order it. You want anything extra on, or something taken out?”

“No. That dish is safe.”

“Good.” Metal grinned, “So, what are we watching tonight?”

“Well… There’s a football game on in forty minutes, have no clue which teams are playing each other…” Trent shrugged, “Or we could roam the channels for a movie to watch…”

“Sounds great.” Metal shrugged, “Knowing us, we’ll probably fall asleep before any of it is done anyway…”

Trent nodded, “You tired?”

“Not yet.” Metal shrugged, “But give me some food and place me in front of a television, the jet lag might catch up to me..”

“I won’t judge…”

“Good.”


	11. Hey, not so fast!

“Hey, hey! Not so fast!” Trent panted, “I just started walking again!”

“Right, yeah. Sorry.” Metal stalled and waited for Trent to catch up, “You’re limping a bit.”

“Of course I’m limping a bit. You would be too…” Trent bent over and leaned with his hands on his knees, most of his weight on the good side, “I remember when I actually had to work hard for muscle fatigue to set in…”

“Want me to head back home and get the car?”

“No.” Trent shook his head, “I just want you to walk at a pace I have a faint chance at keeping up with.”

“Okay, you walk a little bit ahead of me…” Metal nodded, “I’ll make sure not to pass you.”

Trent nodded and stood back up. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”


	12. Home from spin up

“You look beat…” Trent bared his teeth, “Hard spin up?”

Metal sighed, “I was supposed to be home eight days ago, right? Or did I lose track of time?”

“No, you’re still on top of it.”

“Good.” Metal sighed and let his head fall back against the headrest. “I know I shouldn’t complain, not to you… But I could sleep for a week.”

“Complain as much as you need to…” Trent smiled and reached out to rub Metal’s shoulder, “I know some spin ups can be rough as hell. Especially one you think might last a short week which ends up lasting twice of that.”

Metal inhaled and exhaled, “Can we go home and sleep on the couch?”

“We can go home, and you can take a nap on the couch while I fix some dinner for us.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Trent nodded, “You have anything you can and need to talk about?”

“No.” Metal yawned, “Almost got skewered by a jungle trap. That’s about it.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Yeah, but my brain is not processing it.” Trent grimaced, “How?”

“A branch I stepped on released this tension-skewer-hammer thing.” Metal shrugged, “I was not close enough to really get hit.”

“To really get hit, or to get hit?”

“It was just springy enough to reach me. But it didn’t have much momentum when it hit, plus I had my vest on. It didn’t punch through the vest.”

“Are you okay?”

“Little sore.” Metal admitted, “But I didn’t break any ribs, so that’s a win in my book.”

“Can I take a look when we get home?”

“I could lift up my shirt and show you right now…”

“Wouldn’t that be weird if the guys saw us.”

“Hey, the boys still think of you as their medic.” Metal smiled, “They won’t bat an eye.”

Trent nodded, and Metal lifted the hem of his shirt up to reveal the mottled bruising spreading across most of his chest.

“Ow…” Trent winced, “You sure you didn’t break anything?”

“X-rays said I didn’t.” Metal smiled a bit, “I figured it was best to KNOW before I got home. Then you wouldn’t have to worry.”

“Well… Thanks. But I’ll still worry.”

“Gonna need a new vest though.”

“Yeah?”

“A couple of the spikes went partially through it.” Metal yawned, “I think it’s about to retire that vest now.”

“Yeah, I’ll say so.” Trent nodded, “I just changed my mind, you’re not going to take that nap straight away. I need to cuddle with you first.”

“As long as you don’t plan on pressing down on my chest, I’m all for it.”

“No, I won’t.” Trent promised.

“How have you been?” Metal asked and bumped into Trent’s elbow.

“Good.” Trent smiled, “Managed to walk around the park without stopping.”

“That’s great!” Metal grinned.

Trent nodded, “I also had the energy to make dinner most of the days. -And I had leftovers for the other days.”

“Wow, that’s amazing.” Metal smiled softly, “

Trent nodded and put the car into drive, “Yeah, it’s… I’m happy about it. But let’s go home, alright?”

123123123

“Wait a minute…” Metal grinned as they started taking off their warmer clothes, “Is that…”

He didn’t ask for permission before he crossed the few yards over to Trent and ran a hand over Trent’s head, “Your hair is coming back?”

Trent chuckled, “Yeah. It is.”

Metal chuckled as well, still running his hand over the short and thin bristles of Trent’s hair, “Looks darker…”

“Yeah. I know.” Trent chuckled, “I’ve spent so much time looking at the mirror the last few days.”

Metal nodded a bit, “About four months?”

“From the last chemo, yeah.” Trent nodded, “Gonna be weird to actually have hair again.”

“Gonna be weird seeing you with hair again…” Metal admitted and let both of his hands fall to Trent’s waist, “I kinda got used to this look.”

Trent nodded a bit as well, “I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. But having hair will be… Nice.”

“Think you’ll actually have darker hair than I have….”

Trent chuckled, “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve turned pretty grey…”

“Shut up…” Metal chuckled, “As I was…”

“Well, if it continues coming out this dark, then yeah.” Trent reached up and ran a hand through his short hair.

Metal leaned in closer and placed a kiss on Trent’s cheek.

“Hey, properly…” Trent leaned back and looked at Metal with a sigh.

Metal grinned and leaned closer once again to kiss him properly, “Happy now?”

“Very.” Trent nodded, “But man… Now that I’m closer to you, you need a shower.”

Metal sighed.

“Come on…” Trent shrugged, “I’ll join you. I planned on showering later anyway.”

Metal nodded a bit, “Sonny complained that the two of us, him and me, and Brock could be used for chemical warfare. I tried to take a baby-wipes bath on the plane, but… There’s only so much those wipes can do…”

“Well, you don’t qualify for chemical warfare anymore, so… I’m grateful for that.” Trent chuckled and kissed Metal, “But yeah, a shower isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

Metal nodded, “I know… Sure we can’t take a nap first?”

“…I’ll make the shower worth it…” Trent teased.

“Could that come with a side of a shoulder and back massage? Whatever you have in mind.”

“Are you sore?”

Metal nodded, “Beat.”

“-I can do that.” Trent nodded, “If you let go of my waist and start walking to the bathroom…”


End file.
